Gender points to increase number of male applicants

For generations it was usually the men who became doctors, psychologists and dentists. This has now changed. Today there are so few men applying to professional studies in medicine, psychology and dentistry that the University of Oslo (UiO) is considering giving them preferential treatment.

The university management is now circulating a proposal for review in which it considers introducing additional gender points and other recruitment measures for male applicants to the above mentioned fields.

As the admission regulations read today, educational institutions are permitted to favour a gender by a maximum of two additional points. The working group believes this is not enough. It recommends, with the psychology programme in mind, that the Ministry of Education and Research amend the regulations and allow more additional points to be awarded.

Analyses were performed, in order to estimate the number of men that would have been admitted if they had received a certain number of additional points.

But numerous questions arise. Does it work? What were the results for the institutions and subject areas that previously used gender points? And finally: is it fair?